The Turning Point: floydg (A) & Coach Z (J) -- Luganville liberated

[floydg]

June 20, 1942

Highlights: Koumac holds; bombardments in Australia; Kohima turkey shoot

• Still more unloading of troops at Koumac. B-17s from Noumea strike the troops and cause very little casualties. The Japanese make another ground attack, but again, the defenses hold.
• Japanese conduct a naval bombardment of Darwin. 6xCA, CL and 3xDD bombard. Two planes are destroyed on the ground, some casualties are taken and some minor hits to the facilities scored. LBA from Darwin attempt to strike back, but can’t score a hit on any ship except for a torpedo in a PG.
• The British TF bombards the Japanese at Wyndham. 2xBB, CA, CLx3, CLAAx2 and DDx5 do the work, causing a small amount of casualties. Japanese bombers make a few small attacks, but score no hits on the ships, but AAA is effective and a good number of attacking planes are downed. Nells later bomb the port and cause some minor casualties.
• The Japanese bomb the airbase at Changsha. Several Sonia are shot down, but moderate damage is caused.
• A Japanese bombing run at Kohima turns into a turkey shoot. 16 British fighters intercept the 10xOscar and 84 bombers. At a cost of three British fighters, three Oscars, 13xAnn, 3xSally and a Lily are shot down by CAP and AAA, along with 17 bombers damaged. Minor damage is done to the airfield.
• Japanese bombers from Timor attack the previously-damaged Allied ships attempting to flee Wyndham. The heavily-damaged CA Chicago takes a bomb and torpedo hit.
• LBA from Efate strike a lone, damaged AP attempting to get to Luganville and score three bomb hits.
• At Saigon, Japanese PG/PC ASW scores a depth charge hit on the SS Searaven.

Analysis: Kohima can only hold for so long. Once it falls, he begins his march to Noumea. Ugh.
In Northern Australia, it looks like the defenses may hold for a while longer, but not long enough to repel the attack. I guess I need to resign myself to the fact of a Japanese foothold on Australia. I'll have the British TF bomb Wyndham again and then move to Darwin. For the two British CV, I'll inch them up towards Derby.

[floydg]

June 21, 1942

Highlights: Koumac falls; Surface combat at Wyndham

• More troops unload at Koumac. The Japanese attack and easily overwhelm the defenders, who retreat to LaFoa. The Japanese now have a foothold on New Caledonia.
• The Japanese 56th Brigade begins to unload at Lunga. Sallys from Shortlands bomb the Americal Division and B-17s from Efate bomb the 56th Brigade. Each do only slight damage.
• Just outside Wyndham, the British TF enroute to Darwin is intercepted by a Japanese SCTF. The BB Fuso, BB Yamashiro, BB Ise, BB Hyuga and 4xDD take on the BB Warspite, BB Royal Sovereign, CA Devonshire, 3xCL, 2xCLAA and 5xDD. The Japanese are victorious, sinking the CL Emerald, CLAA Caledon, and DD Fortune. Most other ships in the Allied TF were hit, some seriously (like the CL Danae). The Japanese took a few hits and the DD Kamo was most damaged (the only ship with confirmed shell penetration). The task forces break off.
  Allied LBA make a few futile attempts to hit the Japanese ships. The Japanese, however, do better. The planes from the CV Junyo score a bomb hit and two torpedo hits on the CL Danae, sinking her. The BB Royal Sovereign took a torpedo hit (but AAA reportedly shot down 5 of the incoming 13 Kates).
• Minor bombing raids are made in China by both sides.
• The Japanese make a very high-altitude bombing run at Anchorage to scope out the port, as the Japanese suspect that the American carriers are there. No CAP intercepts and no damage is done.
• Allied LBA from Efate again hit the lone AP Gyoko three times, but it refuses to sink.
• Japanese LBA from Koepang hit the fleeing CA Chicago so many times, it was impossible to count (at least 20 bomb hits are counted across two raids before the crew lost count). The cruiser is dead in the water.
• At Wyndham, the Japanese attack again. The combat engineers clear the last of the fortifications. The defense is starting to buckle.
• Over at Darwin, the Japanese also attack, suffering almost 700 casualties to around 250 defending Australian injured.
• Outside Canton, the Japanese make a strong attack, only to take over 1000 casualties to the under 200 Chinese injured.
• North of Yenen, a Japanese division crosses the river and attacks a Chinese Corps. The Japanese are held up by heavy currents and the Japanese take over 1000 casualties to almost no Chinese losses.
• Wewak AF expands to level 4.

Analysis: Bad news all around.
Now he has a foothold in New Caledonia, I expect he'll march overland and seige Noumea. I guess this was his cheap way of avoiding the mines, coastal guns, etc. I'll try to hold him up at LaFoa for a bit, but I don't know if it's worth it, since he can still make a direct invasion of Noumea if he gets bogged down at LaFoa. For some reason, his ships are unloading with impunity - my LBA won't seem to strike; he has over 40 ships at Koumac and my air groups won't launch a single attack against them. Granted, there is some significant carrier-based CAP there, and now he has some float fighters, no doubt. The strange thing up there is that his carrier planes (2xCV and 2xCVL) have not struck in two days...[&:]
In North Australia, the surface combat was a disaster for me. I lost four ships and he lost none. And now he's camped out at Wyndham and will probably shell it to put the final nail in the coffin there. Darwin may last a week or more, but I fear will fall before reinforcements get there.

I just wonder when the onslaught will subside...

[DanielAnsell]

Definitely a rough day.

Still, like I keep saying, everything he puts into Australia, especially land wise, is one thing less he has to put into his island defense, or into striking at India. Japan is awfully far away.

I'd get the RN as far away from the scene as possible. They might do better hitting his supply lines, then trying to stop the IJN from running around shooting things up.

Japan still has bigtime air superiority, so until you can build up to parity, at least, the onslaught won't stop. I'm learning that big time in my game with Big Bad Wolf.

[floydg]

ORIGINAL: Carny

Definitely a rough day.

Still, like I keep saying, everything he puts into Australia, especially land wise, is one thing less he has to put into his island defense, or into striking at India. Japan is awfully far away.

I'd get the RN as far away from the scene as possible. They might do better hitting his supply lines, then trying to stop the IJN from running around shooting things up.

Japan still has bigtime air superiority, so until you can build up to parity, at least, the onslaught won't stop. I'm learning that big time in my game with Big Bad Wolf.

Well, I have pulled back the RN carriers, but the surface ships were "pinned" between the LBA and the BB TF. They were closer to Darwin, so I moved them to Darwin (and made a feeble bombardment of the troops there). Unfortunately, the CV Junyo pursued and hit the BB's. I am worried that I haven't seen the Kaga or Akagi in a while, so either they're creeping in for a surprise or they're in port for refits (which he probably needs, since most of his ships have been running 50+ days with no break).

I do plan to try to get them out, just not sure if it will be safe, considering the 4xBB, carrier and LBA has been pretty effective. At least I didn't commit all 5 RN BB's to this. Or maybe because I didn't commit all five I'm taking the drubbing...?

But I agree, all he commits to North Australia is a waste for him. Marching overland to Perth or the east coast will just be crazy, supply-wise. So if he wants that, I guess I can't stop him. But I have been slowing him down considerably.

[floydg]

June 22, 1942

Highlights: British BB take torpedo hits

• The Japanese 56th Brigade continues to unload at Lunga. The SS Tautog sneaks up on the unloading ships and puts a torpedo into the escorting PG Shotoku Maru. The sub later surfaces and riddles the AK Macassar Maru with 20 mm bullets (it was out of torpedoes).
• 6xDD from Dutch Harbor make a night-time raid on the Japanese PT boats at Adak Island. The Japanese surprise the Americans, but still, only the American DD’s fire and sink one PT before the Japanese could break off. The DD’s then locate the SS I-3 and gets a few minor depth charge hits before returning to Dutch Harbor.
• The British TF bombards the attackers at Darwin, causing very little damage.
• North of New Caledonia, the SS Gudgeon is attacked by three Japanese DD. Some minor damage was done to the sub.
• LB-30’s from Calcutta bomb the resource center at Pagan, causing minor damage.
• At Wyndham, the Japanese BB were struck a few times by Allied LBA, but only one bomb hit was reported on the BB Yamashiro and the fires were out by the next strike.
• At Darwin, the Japanese struck the fleeing British, scoring a torpedo hit on the BB Royal Sovereign (Kates from the CV Junyo) and then 3 torpedo hits on the BB Warspite (Betty’s from Kendari).
• The Japanese attack at Wyndham was easily repulsed by the defenders, except the Australians took more casualties than the Japanese.
• The Chinese attack at Nanning, which was fruitless, as the defenders were well dug-in.
• North of Yenen, the Chinese counter-attack the Japanese that just crossed the river. The Japanese withdraw orderly back across the river.

Analysis: My "relief" of Northern Australia by the British fleet was a flop. Looks like three BB are now out of commission. The remaining two are with the two CV, which I am pulling back. I was spanked on this one. But Darwin's forts are back up to 3 and Wyndham is close to getting level 1 again. His attacks are not as effective, which is good. He is coming in with more supply (and for some reason, my LBA can't do a thing to stop him).
In New Caledonia, the Japanese CV have not struck for three days. I see them right off the coast and in striking range of Noumea, but no strikes. Maybe he's out of strikes, or maybe he's trying to make me think he is to lure me into a trap...

[DanielAnsell]

The one thing I'd be worried about in Australia is him leaving garrisons in the captured northern bases, then packing up his troops and hitting the east coast bases from the sea. He's got enough force, probably, to take the Aussie east all the way down to Brisbane.

[floydg]

ORIGINAL: Carny
The one thing I'd be worried about in Australia is him leaving garrisons in the captured northern bases, then packing up his troops and hitting the east coast bases from the sea. He's got enough force, probably, to take the Aussie east all the way down to Brisbane.

Indeed. I have been digging in and reinforcing those bases as best as I can.
If he does this, he'll probably start at my two remaining bases in New Guinea (Meruake and Thursday Island) and then hit Cairns (first base behind the Great Barrier Reef).
Once I get a squadron of B-24's ready, I'll start bombing Port Moresby and Lae, so he may want to invade to stop that...

[floydg]

June 23, 1942

Highlights: Wyndham falls; Allied surface ships ravaged

• The Japanese 56th Brigade still unloads at Lunga. During the day, each sides troops are bombed, causing a small amount of casualties.
• The 6xDD from Dutch Harbor make another run at the PT boats at Adak Island. They again sink a PT boat and again encounter the SS I-3 on their way back. But this time, the ASW is more effective, scoring 1 direct hit and ten minor hits. Later in the day, B-26B from Dutch Harbor bomb the airbase, causing superficial damage.
• South of Noumea, the SS I-25 locates an American BB TF and puts a torpedo into the BB West Virginia.
• LB-30’s strike the resource center at Mandalay, but probably cause more damage to the CAP than to the facilities, damaging 9 fighters.
• In North Australia, many allied sorties are launched against Japanese ships at both Wyndham and approaching Darwin. A torpedo hit is scored on the BB Fuso.
• The Japanese also strike, scoring a torpedo hit on the DD Tjerk Hiddes and two torpedoes on the CA Devonshire, one torpedo on the DD Scout and three bombs and two torpedoes on the CL Dragon (which later sinks).
• TBD’s at Noumea strike Japanese ships at Koumac. The CAP shoots down a large amount of planes, but a torpedo hit is made on the CA Myoko.
• The Japanese make an attack and Wyndham and the defenders are forced to retreat, giving Japan control of a city in Australia. Wirraways based at the airfield are destroyed and the CA Canberra, DD Arunta and DD Voyager are all scuttled.
• The Japanese make an attack at Yenen and are easily repulsed. The Japanese take almost 2500 casualties (out of 80,000 troops) and the Chinese take about 550 (of 45,000).

Analysis: Well, I guess Wyndham falling was inevitable, but still, it was disappointing. So now the next domino to fall will be Darwin and then he'll probably march west after Derby and Broome.
My British surface ships have been ravaged - maybe down to 1/3 full strength now, so I guess I need to be happy that the Indian Ocean has been quiet. Maybe too quiet.
His CVs outside Noumea haven't struck in days and now they're moving north, away, so maybe he was out of strikes.

Here is what was at Wyndham:

[floydg]

June 24, 1942

Highlights: Things still hot in North Australia

• More Japanese troops unload at Lunga.
• Outside of Derby, the SS I-20 finds the CLAA Columbo and puts two torpedoes into her.
• The BB Hyuga and BB Yamashiro and 2xDD bombard Darwin, causing a decent amount of damage to the base and hitting the BB Warspite in port.
• At Kwajalein, the DD Sagi hits a mine.
• From their new base at Wyndham, the Japanese bomb Derby. 6 Wirraways are destroyed. Later, bombers from Timor also attack, causing no real damage.
• B-26B from Dutch Harbor bomb the airfield at Adak Island, causing superficial damage.
• Two TBD from Noumea, escorted by 6 F4F-3, attack a Japanese surface force closing on Noumea. The CA Mogami takes one torpedo hit and one TBD is shot down by flak.
• At Ichang, the Japanese attack. The defenders are well-prepared and despite a small breach in the lines, the Japanese take over 1700 casualties to 950 Chinese.
• Northwest of Canton, the Japanese also attack. The defenders also hold, causing almost 1500 Japanese casualties to fewer than 250 Chinese.

Analysis: Looks like he has a some armor making a sprint from Wyndham to Darwin to join in the siege. I have an Australian Infantry Division closing in to reinforce, as well. They should arrive about the same time. Hopefully the division will allow me to maintain the defense even longer.
The British ships are in bad shape. I may not be able to save two BB, since they are now stuck in Darwin with serious damage. Moving them west past Timor will be dangerous and east past Port Moresby may be even worse. I guess they'll end up scuttled like the ships at Wyndham... [:(]
Things have quieted down in New Caledonia a bit, but it looks to be heating up soon, as I see a SC TF approaching, probably to bombard Noumea. The Japanese carriers seem to be retiring for now, so maybe I can bring some transports back in to unload. I hope...
As a consolation prize to myself, I plan to start a counter-offensive in the Aleutians, now that things are really quiet there. I have a decent surface force (2xBB, 3xCA) and the CV Hornet. The 1st USMC will be doing the dirty work, once I get some AP up to Dutch Harbor.

[DanielAnsell]

Hey Floyd,

A quick question, how do you get your game to run in windowed mode?

I really think you are winning the war in Australia. He only has a few months till the flood of your reinforcements starts coming, and your carrier force rebuilds or arrives generally. Once that happens, you'll be able to pretty efficiently cut of anything he has in Australia, and either cut it apart, or let it rot uselessly while you steamroll elsewhere.

In my game with Wolf, I just lost two more carriers, so we are in the same boat

But more concretely, what is your situation in India/Burma? Is there any potential for action there?

[floydg]

ORIGINAL: Carny
A quick question, how do you get your game to run in windowed mode?

Create a shortcut to the WitP executable and then in the command for the shortcut (right-click and select Properties), enclose the Target in quotes and add a -w (minus w) after it.

I really think you are winning the war in Australia. He only has a few months till the flood of your reinforcements starts coming, and your carrier force rebuilds or arrives generally. Once that happens, you'll be able to pretty efficiently cut of anything he has in Australia, and either cut it apart, or let it rot uselessly while you steamroll elsewhere.

Well, I certainly hope so.
Just to annoy him, I'll start pushing back in the Aleutians. I think he's abandoned it after I stopped him at Dutch Harbor. And he's committed in force to Australia and South Pacific.

In my game with Wolf, I just lost two more carriers, so we are in the same boat

Yes, I saw that. I feel your pain. But in my case, I was taking an un-necessary risk to harass the Lunga invasion being in Betty range from Rabaul and paid for it. I think the Wolf just surprised you. Still, an uncomfortable situation.

But more concretely, what is your situation in India/Burma? Is there any potential for action there?

India seems well-defended. Everyone is building up forts nicely and I have a good swarm of fighters. I have been harassing his resources in Burma with LB-30's from Calcutta quite effectively. I have about 600 AV marching towards Mytiykna, where he has about a Division.
But for the most part, that area is at a stand-still with no real conflict except some assorted bombing raids on airfields which has been basically ineffective.

[floydg]

June 25, 1942

Highlights: Lunga falls; Noumea "saved"

• Japanese combat ships approach Noumea harbor. 2xBB, 4xCA, CL and 3xDD meet up with 6 PT boats. The PT-38 is blasted and sunk, but the Japanese retire to Koumac.
• Darwin is bombarded by Japanese ships. 7xCA, CL and 3xDD cause about 300 casualties. An aerial bombardment later puts hits on the British BB in port. The troops then attack; Japanese combat engineers reduce the fortifications, but the defenders still hold
• Northwest of Canton, an Oscar sweep of the CAP nets 11 Chinese fighters.
• LB-30’s hit the resource center at Taung Gyi, causing minor damage.
• B-24D Liberators from Cooktown bomb Port Moresby. Two Liberators are shot down and almost all are damaged. But some damage is done to the facilities and 7 Japanese planes are reported destroyed.
• Japanese bomb Derby from Wyndham again. More Wirraways are destroyed and slight damage is done to the airbase.
• The Japanese attack at Lunga and overwhelm the heavily disrupted defenders. The Americal Division surrenders and Lunga is under Japanese control.

Analysis: I knew Lunga was going to fall eventually. I couldn't keep them in supply, the disruption was just too high and he kept bringing in fresh troops that I couldn't even consider stopping. But they did hold him off for about 50 days, so I can't be too disappointed.
The bombing of Port Moresby is a diversion to keep his attention up there instead of New Caledonia. Not sure it will work, but I have plenty of replacement planes in the pool, so I'll give it a whirl.
I'll move my BB's up to Noumea and either defend there for the eventual return to bombard, or make a raid on Koumac and see if I can shoot up some of his lightly-escorted transports.
My carriers are not really repairing - I tried the trick of putting them in a TF and immediately disbanding, but that didn't work. These carriers are at large ports (San Francisco, Sydney), but yet, no progress... [:(]

[floydg]

June 26, 1942

Highlights: Surface engagement at Noumea

• The Japanese combat ships approach Noumea harbor again. But this time, the Americans are waiting with 4xBB, CA, CL and 2xDD. The Americans surprise the Japanese and pound them before they can respond. All told, the BB Nagato takes 6 shell hits, the BB Mutsu takes 1, the CA Maya takes 8, CA Nachi takes 2, CA Ashigara takes 11, CA Mikuma takes 10, CL Natori just 1, DD Hatsukaze takes 24 and is sunk and the DD Isokaze takes 2.
  For the Americans, the BB California takes 5 shell hits, but the damage is minor; the BB Idaho takes 4 hits, but no penetrations and no fires; the BB Mississippi takes 6 small-caliber hits, but none cause more than superficial damage; the CL St. Louis takes a minor hit and the DD Drayton takes moderate damage from 2 shell hits that penetrated the armor.
  The Japanese retire north.
• By Koumac the DD Finback puts a torpedo into the already-crippled CA Mogami.
• LB-30’s bombard Akyab, causing superficial damage.
• Betty’s from Luganville bomb the port at Noumea. The CA San Francisco and DD Anderson take bomb hits, causing even more damage to these ships.
• B-17s from Efate bomb Luganville. A dozen B-17s are damaged, as are 8 Zeros (1 shot down). Almost no damage is done to the facility.
• North of New Caledonia, Allied LBA attack a resupply taskforce, scoring bomb hits on two APs.
• Japanese bomb Thursday Island, causing minor damage to the airbase and destroying vital supplies.
• North of Darwin, a Beaufort V-IX puts a torpedo into the CL Kiso.
• The Japanese again attack at Darwin, and again, the defenses hold. The Japanese take almost 1500 casualties to just over 500 Australians.

Analysis: Fortunately, I was able to hold him off at Noumea and take very light damage. Looks like he really got pounded. I'll be persuing him back up to Koumac.
At Darwin, it looks like his forces are getting tired -- his AV is down to 18. And I have a fresh Australian division a few days out. Maybe I'll be able to repulse this invasion. We shall see...

[floydg]

June 27, 1942

Highlights: More Japanese ships sunk in New Caledonia

• The American ships at Noumea pursue the Japanese retreating to Koumac and intercept the CA Myoko, CA Mogami and DD Mochizuki. All three Japanese ships are sunk and the American ships take some minor damage, except for the CA Indianapolis, which takes some moderate damage.
• On a minesweeping mission at Efate, the DMS Zane is torpedoed by the SS RO-34 and is sunk. Destroyers coming in to search for the sub are attacked by Betty’s which score a bomb hit on the DD Sands.
• Japanese bomb Derby with 22xSally and cause a minor amount of damage. Later, 9xBetty make a port attack and cause extensive damage to the two of the CA in port.
• B-17s from Efate bomb Luganville and cause superficial damage. Other LBA attack ships at Luganville, and score two bomb hits on the AP Fusemi Maru.
• 18xNell and 32xBetty bomb Darwin, destroying 10 aircraft and causing moderate damage to the airfield and associated facilities.
• Japanese engineers expand the airfields at Gili-Gili to 2 and Luganville to 3.

Analysis: Things are looking positive in New Caledonia (or as positive as they can be with my back against the wall). It appears his carriers may be returning now, so I better not get too crazy trying to sink everything he's got at Koumac.
In Northern Australia, it looks like he has a surface force coming back to bombard Darwin again. But his AV is dropping (last deliberate attack was adjusted down to 18). I have a fresh division with an AV of 384 just 3 hexes out, which will hopefully turn the tide. Hopefully.

[floydg]

June 28, 1942

Highlights: Japanese ships are easy targets

• Japanese reinforcements arrive at Darwin by boat. The SS Sailfish in Darwin harbor greets them by putting a torpedo into the AP Yoshinogawa Maru and the AP Ayaha Maru. Coastal guns report a hit on the PG Seiko Maru.
• At Ndini, the SS Trigger finds a replenishment TF and puts a torpedo in the AO Notoro. The fuel cargo burns and burns.
• SE of Tokyo, the SS Herring finds a carrier TF with the CVE Taiyo and CV Hiyo. The Taiyo is attacked and missed. Some depth charges come close to the sub. Allied intelligence is surprised to see the CV Hiyo, as spies report it was not near completion approximately two months ago and expected it to be completed in August.
• At Koepang, the SS Salmon puts a torpedo into the AP Hokoku Maru, which was reportedly carrying troops.
• Japanese aircraft from Timor bomb Derby, causing minor damage to the airfield.
• American B-17s from Efate bomb Luganville, doing minor damage to the airfield.
• B-25s from Broome find the Shuzan Naval Guard Unit marching from Wyndham to Derby. Bombs are dropped, but the troops scatter in time to avoid any real harm.
• Hudsons from Efate locate the BB Nagato sailing north from New Caledonia and score a bomb hit. A transport TF is located and LBA puts a bomb in the AP Hakozake Maru and the AP Fusemi Maru.
• Japanese from Kendari bomb Darwin with 43 bombers. Moderate damage is done to the airbase.
• Japanese make an attack at Darwin and the defenders hold, but each side takes about the same number of casualties.

Analysis: Glad the Japanese ships are the only ones to be hit this turn.
But Darwin is teetering now and could fall soon. An Australian Division is about a day out, but maybe that won't make a difference now that he's got ample supply (I assume) and some fresh troops. And now Derby is getting softened up...
In New Caledonia, Japanese troops have marched into La Foa, so the defense of Noumea is now only one hex away...

[floydg]

June 29, 1942

Highlights: More Japanese transports hit

• More Japanese troops unload at Darwin.
• Japanese encounter some sub-laid mines at Lunga and one hits the AP Kaika Maru, killing some troops onboard.
• SW of Pearl Harbor, American ASW ships locate the SS I-31 and score one direct hit and several minor hits.
• B-17s from Noumea bomb Luganville, some B-17s are lost, but more Japanese are shot down in the air and destroyed on the ground. Superficial damage is done to the airfield.
• The Japanese retaliate by bombing Efate, but reportedly lose more aircraft than the Allies. And later Japanese carrier planes from carriers NE of Noumea attack the base and cause some damage.
• LBA from Efate attack this carrier TF and make some bombing runs on the CV Zuikaku, but score no hits. Later, an A-20B Boston puts a bomb in the AK Atlas Maru and some Hudsons put two bombs in the AP Hakozaki Maru (reportedly loaded with troops).
• Japanese carrier planes from the CVE Zuiho NW of Noumea bomb the troops at La Foa, causing about 50 casualties.
• Two British DD, attempting to sneak to the Australian East coast from Darwin are spotted NW of Townsville and attacked by Nells from Port Moresby. Two torpedo hits are scored on the DD Griffin, which sinks.
• 48 Japanese bombers make a bombing run on Darwin again. A small amount of damage was done.
• Allied bombers put two bombs in the AP Takaosan Maru at Wyndham and one on the AP Kiko Maru.
• Japanese bombers from Timor attack the damaged ships at port in Derby, further damaging the CA Devonshire.
• Japanese attack at La Foa. A Japanese division and field artillery regiment attack the assorted defenders, including a tank regiment. The defenders easily hold and the Japanese suffer over 450 casualties.

Analysis: The Australian division is one more day out. Once it gets in, things could stabilize (I hope). Of course, once he reinforces (and I'm sure he will), I could end up with a mess of troops getting slaughtered.
In the New Caledonia area, his carriers are now back. This time, they're split into two groups, it seems. I was really excited when the bombers blew past the CAP and made some runs on the Zuikaku -- too bad no hits from the 9 planes. Maybe next time.
In Burma, it looks like my advance on Myitkina may work out - he doesn't seem to have as much as I thought there, and he was surprised to see the Chinese coming in from the east. The problem with the Chinese is getting them supply, though.
In other news (or rather no-news), my carrier repairs haven't budged in a week. At this rate, I'll get the Essex class CV before any of these are sea worthy again. But the Wasp will be available in about 2 weeks, so that's exciting.

[DanielAnsell]

Good work at Noumea, Floyd.

Hey, how are you set for troops at Katherine, Daly Waters, and Tennant Creek? Alice Springs, too, I guess.

If he does roust you out of Darwin, if he does what Alex (Big Bad Wolf) did, he'll be dropping paras at the bases behind you, to try and cut off that big nice division to be cut up.

It should only take 30-50 AV at those bases to prevent that from happening, though.

Cloncurry might be worth putting a few troops at also, for the same reasons.

[floydg]

ORIGINAL: Carny

Good work at Noumea, Floyd.

Hey, how are you set for troops at Katherine, Daly Waters, and Tennant Creek? Alice Springs, too, I guess.

If he does roust you out of Darwin, if he does what Alex (Big Bad Wolf) did, he'll be dropping paras at the bases behind you, to try and cut off that big nice division to be cut up.

It should only take 30-50 AV at those bases to prevent that from happening, though.

Cloncurry might be worth putting a few troops at also, for the same reasons.

The game is stock, so no Katherine, Daly Waters, Tennant Creek, etc. I do have some troops at Alice Springs, however. And some brigades marching all over the place. I'll try to post a picture soon.

I hope I've drained enough of his carrier planes (and pilots) to make his attacks much less effective. We shall see.

[floydg]

June 30, 1942

Highlights: More bloodshed at Darwin

• More Japanese troops unload at Darwin. Coastal guns report several hits on the PG Seiko Maru. Late in the day, Japanese 2xBB and 2xDD bombard the troops and cause over 1000 casualties and assorted damage to the airbase and aircraft.
• LB-30’s from Calcutta bomb the airfield at Myitkyina. The bombers shoot down an Oscar and AA shoots down a bomber. Some moderate damage is reported to the airbase.
• B-17E’s from Noumea bomb the airbase at Luganville. Very minor damage is reported.
• B-26’s from Broome strike the Sasebo 1st SNLF advancing to Derby. The troops scatter and almost no injuries are reported.
• Allied LBA at Efate again strike Japanese shipping around Luganville and score a bomb hit on the AP Hakozaku Maru.
• Japanese bombers hit Derby and do superficial damage to the port.
• East of Townsville, the SS RO-67 is located and a direct depth charge hit is reported.

Analysis: The Australian division made it to Darwin, but the bombardment was fairly effective. Not sure how long I can hold off there. Especially now that supply is starting to dwindle. And he has troops marching to Darwin and Derby from his captured base at Wyndham.
At New Caledonia, his carriers are advancing, but not doing much except keep all of my transports still at sea until the coast is clear.
We'll see...

[floydg]

July 1, 1942

Highlights: Darwin defense holds, as do other defenders

• The AP Shuko Maru hit a sub-laid mine at Rabaul
• The Japanese surface ships (2xBB, 2xDD) bombarded Darwin again. Less damage was caused than the previous day, but still decent damage was caused. Japanese carrier planes hit Darwin and did slight damage to the airfield.
  A small contingent of Allied planes hit the 5th Japanese Division, causing very few casualties.
  The Japanese attacked, but failed to make headway, taking 1100 casualties to just under 200 Australians. The Australians counter-attacked, and caused another 325 Japanese casualties to just over 100 Australians.
• Just outside of Tokyo, the TK Kiyo Maru was hit by a torpedo from the SS Drum. The tanker must have been empty, as no fires were seen.
• Japanese float planes from Koumac bombed the Allied troops at Lao Foa, doing very little. Later, Kates from two Japanese CVL also hit the troops, with just slightly better results.
• American SBDs and TBDs attacked ships at Koumac, but a large percentage of the planes were shot down and the few that made it through the CAP did not score any hits.
• Allied LBA at Efate hit ships at Luganville and scored a bomb hit on the DD Uzuki, the PG Hirotama Maru and the AP Hakusan Maru (which had troops loaded). Japanese planes from Luganville struck back and did some minor damage to the airbase at Efate.
• The Japanese bombed Derby again and did a bit more damage than yesterday.
• The Japanese made an attack at Ichang, but the defenses held and the Japanese took over 1600 casualties to 640 Chinese.
• The Japanese also made an attack at Yenen, but again the defenses held, causing almost 1800 Japanese casualties to just over 300 Chinese.
• The defenders at La Foa were also attacked by the Japanese, but they easily held their ground, causing almost 350 Japanese casualties to under 100 Allies.
• Outside of Canton, the Chinese launched an attack, but the Japanese defended well and the attack was repulsed. The Chinese took just under 700 casualties to just over 200 Japanese.

Analysis: All of his ground attacks failed (all were 0-to-1 attacks), and my counter-attack at Darwin was 1-to-1. So I'll give it another go and see how that pans out.
Looks like his advance in Australia may be slowing enough for me to position some reinforcements. But I'm careful not to move too much up there such as to leave the other (more important) bases in Australia uncovered.
The advance in New Caledonia is also slowed, so I moved a Division up to La Foa from Noumea. I'll try to sneak in the 2nd USMC Division (on AKs 5 hexes out), now that his air supremacy seems to have waned a bit.